Angel is home

[Elicia]

Sorry there is no pic yet as yesterday was a little bit overwhelming.

So I met my breeder's daughter in Paris and she gave me my little darling. The poor little one had to put up with Paris' public transportation and believe me the Metro is hell even for humans used to it. He behaved really well only meowing when I was carrying him from one station to the other. In the train to Rennes he simply slept and played a little and was the nicest, best-behaved kitten I have ever had.

Well once at home things were a little out of hand. The boys aren't that big (Cyrano is 9 and Diwan 14,6 lbs) but still huge to a 12 week-old kitten. End result: they were all scared. We went slowly but Angel is very vivacious and as I am alone it's not always easy. I decided not to put him in his safe room to start with but to show him his new home. He wasn't scared to discover his whereabouts and was definitely more interested in his brothers' wet food than in his kibble. I let him eat a little of that (I know I shouldn't have) as he hadn't had anything during the last 12 hours.
He is the perfect lap kitty, purring like a machine and licking my hands and face at times. The boys have been studying him from a distance, Diwan being more curious and ready for contact than Cyrano. There has been hissing and groaning every now and then but absolutely no aggressivity on either side, which is a lot better than what we had when Cyrano and Diwan met (Cyrano hit and bit him several times within hours of first contact).
The boys have showed me they were not happy about the gift I brought home which I understand and I must say I expected...

I have thought long and hard about the best room to use as the safe room for Angel and decided for my bedroom... I know it's not perfect but it is the room the boys spend the least time in when I am not home. Their bedroom has always been the guest bedroom and very often I find them asleep there when I get home. My bedroom also has a small scratch tree and is big enough to have a litter tray and food/water dishes for the little one.
Last night we went to bed and of course the boys decided not to sleep on the bed with Angel and me. They came visiting several times checking on me and the little one but didn't go on the bed.

This morning I left Angel in his room and I went about with the boys as if nothing had changed. Of course Angel was crying next door, not understanding the new situation. I cuddled with both boys and played with them. Cyrano was still very scared by his little brother, but he didn't groan at me like he did a little yesterday night. Diwan was a lot more relaxed and came very close to Angel sniffing at him. There was a small hiss and a little groan but they were a lot quieter.

Then I left for work and Angel is now in his room. I must admit that he has a very strong voice. My big Diwan has a tiny voice for the big ragdoll boy he is, so I kinda expected his ragdoll brother to be the same but no
I plan to go home at my lunch break to spend some time with each of them and see how things are.

I was also considering bathing Angel tonight. His fur is a little mushed from the trip (and a little dirty on one side, not sure what it is) and he smells quite differently from the boys. As I always use baby cat shampoo on them, I thought the well-known scent might help the bonding.

He looks so small to me and I realized that I got his brothers when they were a little older (he is exactly 12 weeks old whereas Cyrano was 14 and Diwan 15 weeks old when they came home). He weighs 3.4 lbs (1,55 kilos), which is okay I think for his age (same weight as Cyrano and a little more than Diwan as my darling got ill when he was that age explaining why he came later).

I think my main problem once they have accepted each other will be to keep him away from his brothers' food. I was planning on a nice slow transition but the little one is not cooperating...

[TeresaK]

Sometimes you have to move at the cats' pace instead of yours!! I'm so glad that he's home and sounds simply wonderful!! Can't wait to see the pics!!

[Elicia]

Yeah... When I got home the boys were quite surprised It took Angel only a minute to realize something was up and he called for me.
Cyrano is still totally scared by his little brother but he seems quite eager to know him better. They like the same toys and react similarly to a given situation (he watched in awe as he was moving his toys around like he always does). The breeder was right they should get along quite nicely once they have overcome their fear of each other. Diwan is less scared and has been groaning a lot more... but he hasn't attacked or even given signs that he planned to do so, so I stay confident. He is the boss in the household so I guess he will make sure the little one gets his rank.

I think Angel's scent is the real problem here. I brought him closer to Cyrano earlier, he looked at him curiously but once he took a whiff of him, he ran away in a panic Maybe he has been in contact with adults males prior of his leaving... I guess he will get his bath tonight. I just hope he won't be too scared by it.

[nicky263]

Congrats on getting your new baby home! I'm sure your two big boys will get used to Angel quickly... besides a bath it might be helpful rubbing a used blanket over the little one to give him a familiar scent... it worked just fine for me while introducing my then 11 months and 7 months old boys, they stopped hissing and growling after just 3 days...
I'd love to see pictures of him just like Teresa

[FluffyHuffy]

It's great to hear Angel is home. I'm sure it won't be too long before harmony has been restored and we will be able to see photos of your 3 furbabies together.

[gussie]

I'm glad Angel is home. Congratulations! I agree with everyone else:pictures please.

I was stressing when I introduced Gussie & BLue. It went on for three days, then the two of them acted like they were siblings. It seems like your cats are well on their way to accepting Angel. I think the idea of changing his scent so he smells like the others is a great idea!

[Elicia]

Thanks
Well I promise I'll try to post pics later today. Last night was a little busy with friends calling and the cats misbehaving.

So the little one got his bath and he sure didn't like it. He meowed his heart out to the point that Diwan and Cyrano were all concerned... until they rsaw it was him and then Di wasn't that concerned anymore. To be honest I expected my birman to be the one not accepting him and it seems that it's my ragdoll who doesn't.

My sweet raggie misbehaves big times, last night I even caught him ready to hit him twice (but he didn't do it even though I didn't say anything). Cyrano is still afraid of him but he seems to like him as he gave him nose rubs several times last night. Angel also seems to like him but is still a little unsure as I think he sees both cats as an item.

I talked the whole thing through with my Mom and she reminded me that Diwan is always the one who has the hardest time adjusting to new things. So I guess it was to be expected.

I think three is the magical number. When I introduced the boys to each other it was really bad (far worse than here) during three days, then it was kinda okay but still not great during three weeks. Now it's been 60 hours and I expect things to be better tomorrow night. The improvement is already very noticeable. The distance between them as they are studying each other has really shortened and there has been a little less hissing and groaning

I promise I'll post pics of Angel home...